The new town council had a full agenda in late January, and some of their decisions have me worried.
The vote (5-2) to review and revise telecommunications regulations was very confusing. Last September – after much discussion – the council passed a lawful ordinance covering these regulations. Now some residents want it to be rewritten with more restrictions added. The problem: I don’t believe any town is allowed to override state and federal statutes.
This town has already received a legal document from telecommunications giant ATT warning of a lawsuit if we ignore telecommunications law, and I don’t believe our insurance would not cover the lawsuit because the council has already been advised that this is illegal! Is revisiting this issue really in the best interest of our town?
The council also voted (5-2) to reject yet another large grant that came highly recommended by town staff. This one is worth $240,000 from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration for safe street funding. Why would they do that? Apparently, the wording on the application form for the grant was not deemed politically correct. It doesn’t seem like a solid reason to turn down much-needed money for streets. After all, these grants are simply our taxes coming back to our town. Now the money will just go to some other town.
Why does the council keep rejecting grant money that the staff determines would benefit our community?
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